318 – A story that never ends
After completing his mission, the Sun God returned to the Sky Temple.
An unexpected guest was waiting for him there.
“···I never thought the day would come when I would see you again in the sky. “I thought I might go down to earth for the rest of my life and never come back.”
At that natural response, the Goddess of Fate smiled and sipped her tea.
“Now that one story has ended neatly, all we need to do is take a short break.”
“Heh heh. What a strange hobby. Okay. You have always been obsessed with ‘stories’. So, how was this story?”
An immediate answer came back without any hesitation.
“It was the best. “It was more enjoyable than any story I’ve ever read.”
“Hoo. That’s truly high praise. “Is there a reason to evaluate it that way?”
This time, the Goddess of Fate took a moment to think over the story and a soft smile appeared on her lips.
“A boy encounters her goddess, becomes a phantom thief, and struggles to escape her tragic fate. Actually, if you look at it up to this point, it wasn’t that interesting.”
She recalled the look in the eyes of the phantom thief that was clearly in her memory.
“After realizing love, he resisted desperately, even abandoning the name of the Phantom Thief. He finally broke his fate and achieved the future he wanted. And he even seized the opportunity to become a god by being born in human flesh.”
“Hmm. Certainly, the final ending is comparable to the heroic stories of ancient mythology…”
The sun god agreed with her goddess’ words, but trailed off her words ambiguously.
“In the end, he did not accept the constellation of God. So this story can’t become a myth.”
He was sure that Raven would accept it, so when Raven rejected the offer, the Sun God could not help but believe his ears.
What choice could be more foolish than this?
I have no intention of ignoring humans, but objectively speaking, the gap between gods and humans is no different from heaven and earth. It is a more miraculous event than a mere insect becoming a human being.
Flying insects and humans are mortal beings who are born on the ground and face death, but the moment they are reborn as gods, they become immortal.
The most serious problem of all was something else.
If Raven does not become a god, it is impossible to stabilize the twist of fate.
If we do not quickly correct the skyrocketing causality, the universe may suddenly collapse one day.
“Wasn’t he even in love with his sister goddesses? “I just don’t understand why you would deliberately turn down the opportunity to spend your life together as equal deities.”
The sun god groaned and closed his eyes without hiding his troubled expression.
On the other hand, the Goddess of Fate did not stop laughing as if she was happy about this situation itself.
“That’s it. “This story can finally shine attractively because it has completely abandoned the happy ending that could have been the best.”
The goddess flinched slightly as if she couldn’t control her excitement, and as she repeated her deep breathing, she managed to regain her composure and continue her story.
“He chose to remain a phantom thief rather than become a god. “It’s not a neat ending, but it’s an attempt to force the story further!”
“I don’t understand that choice. If you want to work as a phantom thief, shouldn’t you first receive the constellation of God and then live as a human like you? “Why do you insist on rejecting God’s position?”
When the sun god, who was not easily convinced, raised her objection, the goddess laughed and explained the reason in one word.
He shouted it out so simply and clearly that a more perfect explanation would be impossible.
“Because that’s romance!!”
Her cries echo and resound in the temple garden.
The sun god, who had opened her mouth in a daze as if she was speechless for a moment, soon shook her head as if she was astounded.
“As expected, I can’t understand that way of thinking…. Whatever it is, the offer is still valid, so you have no choice but to keep asking until he accepts. “If I talk about it until I get sick of it, won’t you accept it right before I die?”
“Well, that’s right. Anyway, it seems like it has nothing to do with this body, so try your best.”
“Don’t be so cold and help me too… “I guess I should try to persuade her sister goddesses as well as I can.”
After that, a strange tea party continued in the temple garden between the Sun God, who was contemplating with her chin resting on her chin, and the Goddess of Fate, sipping black tea with a pleasant smile.
***
“Ah. “It’s here.”
Yulia looked around her, then looked up at the building in front of her and muttered to herself.
A chilly night as winter is not over yet.
But just one month from now, the cold will go away and the season of spring will return, when new buds will bloom.
Spring is the season of new beginnings.
True to its meaning, she too will have a new beginning next month.
The academy entrance ceremony will be held soon.
As the only daughter of the Grace family, she has worked hard to follow her dream and become a wizard.
Enrollment at the academy, in a way, meant liberation from the things that had previously bound the girl.
I will throw away the bonds of family and my responsibilities as an aristocrat, and as an ordinary student, I will build up many happy memories of my youth with my friends.
As part of this, Julia became independent from her family and started her own life in London.
In order to fully enjoy the freedom she had never enjoyed before in her life, the girl went out and came here despite the late evening.
National Gallery of Britannia.
For her, who loved painting, this was one of the places she always dreamed of.
So, with her excited heart, Julia paid her admission fee and entered the art museum.
“Wow…”
Being able to actually appreciate art that she had only seen in books was more enjoyable than she expected.
Yulia enjoyed this moment with all her might with her bright expression.
As she entered the museum, works she was unfamiliar with began to appear.
One of her indispensable pleasures was looking at such works and exploring their meaning.
Then she suddenly came across a strange picture that made her stop in her tracks.
“···This.”
Yulia stared blankly at the painting, drawn by the magic of her work that seemed to deceive her.
Although it seems to be somewhat gloomy and dark at first glance, it somehow calms her heart and at the same time evokes a longing for faded memories.
The more you look at it, the more your emotions change. The girl was embarrassed because even she herself could not properly understand her deep and complex feelings.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like her tears were about to fall, and she unconsciously tried to leave her place.
Someone stopped next to her and began to quietly admire the painting.
Yulia stopped all her movements and looked mesmerized at the boy standing next to her.
“A deal depicting a sparkling lighthouse on a stormy sea. “Isn’t it dreamy?”
With a review that felt like déjà vu, the other person slowly turned his head, made eye contact with the girl, and smiled.
“Hello.”
***
Rachel sighed, scratching her head nervously.
It was good until she realized that she had outstanding magical talent. There was a time when she purely thought that if she could make good use of this talent, she could make a lot of money and become rich in no time.
But there was an unexpected obstacle.
She was having a hard time finding tuition to enter the academy.
She needs to enter the academy to make money, but she needs money to do that.
What a terrible and ridiculous irony this is.
Rachel laughed because she couldn’t bear to cry at this cruel reality that had come upon her.
She smiled bitterly and looked blankly down at her admission notice lying on the table.
Her older sister asked her to leave it to herself, and she went out, pretending to be cheerful, and she hasn’t come back yet.
For the past few days, her older sister has been returning home late at night and late into the morning.
She must be wandering around the city of London, east and west, looking for her job.
Living with just her two sisters without her parents was not easy.
In particular, it was difficult to say that her salary as a maid, which was her older sister’s job, was high, even if it was empty words.
She had no problem somehow making a living, but it was a different matter for her to pay for admission to the academy.
There is less than a month left until her entrance ceremony.
It is impossible to quickly raise money for her tuition within that time using ordinary methods.
“Damn…!”
She doesn’t want to see her sister suffer because of her.
In that case, it would be better to give up on entering the academy, but then the future in which the two sisters’ situation will improve will disappear.
But is it okay to just stay like this?
What if she had to go into a strange man’s mansion to help her older sister pay for her tuition?
She was thinking hard and biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed.
The front door swung open, announcing that her older sister Leah was returning home earlier than usual.
From Noble mtl dot com
Moreover, for some reason, her tension was very high. Recently, she tried to act lively due to her tuition fees, but the shadow on her face never seemed to disappear.
Is something good happening?
“Rachelel~!! Sister is here! She came back with great news~!!”
“···Have you been drinking?”
“hehehe. Listen! “I found a way to save tuition!!”
Although she was surprised by the unexpected news, a part of her felt anxious.
“You suddenly found that much money…? Hasn’t she been scammed? “You didn’t follow a stranger just because he gave you candy, right!?”
“Hmm. “First of all, I don’t know him.”
Oh my god. I couldn’t believe it, but I was really scammed.
Leah smiled brightly and answered Rachel, who was feeling dizzy as she touched her forehead.
“He was a very kind person! “He first listened to her concerns and listened to Rachel’s story, and then he said he wanted to support her with a scholarship!”
“Scholarship support… “Just by looking at it, it’s a scam.”
“No! Really!”
Saying that, Leah rummaged through her arms, took out her business card, and held it out to her younger sister.
[Lupin Welfare Foundation]
“It’s a name I’ve never heard of. “It’s also suspicious.”
When Rachel didn’t stop being suspicious even after seeing her business card, Leah put her arms around her waist and looked smug, as if she knew she would.
“hehehe. I brought you here knowing that would happen! “If Rachel hears her story in person, she will believe that she is a good person, right?”
“What!? “Do you know what kind of person she is?”
As usual, Rachel barely managed to swallow her anger, even though her temper was rising at the sight of her clueless older sister.
Yes. It would be better to confront her directly.
Rachel decided to deal with her uninvited guest in order to find out who the swindler was who was trying to trick innocent people.
And then the door opened, revealing the boy waiting outside.
“···Huh?”
Even though she was clearly seeing this face for the first time, Rachel somehow felt a familiar longing.
He looked at her Rachel, smiled, and then said.
“Hello.”